Galicia

Igor Stravinsky is not a composer who is usually associated with symphonic form. Five of his compositions bear that name, however, even though they have little in common. The first major work Stravinsky composed entirely in the United States, the Symphony in Three Movements seems to pick up where the Rite of Spring left off with its rhythmic ostinatos and shock effects. It can be interpreted as the composer’s response to the Second World War, which was ravaging Europe at the time of its composition, and its striking and triumphant conclusion appears to echo of what the composer must have felt. The Symphonies of Wind Instruments, a short, compact work, was a tribute to Stravinsky’s friend and colleague Claude Debussy.